


Wishful Thinking

by Blue_Gumdrop



Category: Toy Story (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Eventual Romance, Feels, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Margaret (Toy Story), Minor Original Character(s), Plot, Wishes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:16:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20512880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Gumdrop/pseuds/Blue_Gumdrop
Summary: Buzz stands frozen as the RV pulls away from the carnival. He can't think, can't move, he can't even breathe. He's trapped in his body, staring at Woody's bittersweet smile as they drive away. There's only one thing Buzz can say for certain, this isn't goodbye.





	1. Chapter 1

Buzz isn’t thinking clearly. At least, that’s what Jessie said after trying to get his attention for the third time. 

Buzz isn’t paying attention. How could he? How could any of them? He can’t understand how easy it was for all of his friends to let go. To leave Woody behind, standing on top of the carousel smiling at them as they drove away. 

Jessie had been the one to say what Buzz could not. She told Woody Bonnie would be okay. That he could stay there, at the Carnival. 

Buzz feels hollow for the first time in a long time. Still reeling from the warmth of Woody’s arms, before he was pulled away by their friends. Back to the RV. Back to Bonnie. 

He wonders if the others realize how serious this is. Rex and Buttercup are still talking about how funny it would be if Bonnie’s dad was arrested. Mr. and Mrs. Potato head are already back to arguing with Hamm. Slink was talking to Forky. Jessie and Bullseye were standing near him, Jessie still trying to talk to him. The rest of Bonnie’s toys were talking. All smiles and laughter. 

Does nobody care? Do they not realize who they’ve lost? Is it that easy for them to forget, just minutes after they said goodbye?

He feels disoriented. Like when he fell over Sid’s staircase years ago, believing he really could fly. The realization he was nothing more than a toy was crushing, but that was nothing compared to how he feels now. 

“Buzz?” Jessie asks

Buzz snaps his head up to look at her.

“What?” He asks distantly. 

She turns to the other toys. “We were just wondering where you think we’re going next?” 

“Going next?” Buzz repeats. He isn’t going anywhere. No. He’ll be stuck in this moment for some time. Kidding himself into believing Woody will be back. That he’ll climb in through one of the windows later and join them. Whispering so not to wake Bonnie that he missed them. That he’ll turn up and join them like he always does. 

“On the Road Trip genius.” Mr. Potato head comments. 

Oh. The Road Trip. That’s right. 

“I don’t know. I don’t care.” Buzz says. 

Some of the toys look over to him in surprise. They’ve never seen Buzz so dismissive, so harsh. 

Jessie falters, and Dolly comes forward, with a concerned look. 

“Listen Buzz. I know you were close with Woody, but you can’t just act this way.” 

“Do you know?” Buzz spits out venomously, making several of the toys gasp. 

Buzz stands up rigidly from his place on the ground. 

“Tell me what you know, please. I want to hear it.” Buzz states angrily. 

Dolly backs away and Jessie steps forward, frown on her face. 

“Cool it Buzz. We’re your friends.” Jessie says.

“You cool it!” Buzz throws back at her, feeling a twinge of regret at her hurt expression. His anger wins out though. 

“How can you all act this way?” Buzz asks in disbelief. “How can you be so happy, so carefree? Don’t you see who’s gone! Don’t you get it?!” He yells. 

“Buzz stop it!” Jessie yells firmly, the sound echoing through the RV. 

“Woody is gone Buzz. He’s gone. Missing him will only make it harder on us. We need to be here for Bonnie. We need to be focused on what’s happening now Buzz, not living in the past.” 

Buzz turns to his friends, shocked to see them all nodding in agreement. His mind is moving so slowly right now, he can’t breathe in here. It’s too cramped, too warm, there are too many toys looking at him. 

“I...I need some air.” Buzz whispers, climbing up to the window of the RV and jumping out of it. 

He hears Jessie telling everyone to leave him alone and give him some time.

Buzz doesn’t need time. All the time in the world couldn’t change how he feels. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits up on the roof of the RV for. He only knows when he leaves it. Climbing down the ladder and hopping onto the gravel below. 

The cover of night gives him somewhere to hide as he walks down the street. The other toys are all sleeping. He knows they won’t come after him. 

Buzz walks faster, refusing to let this be it. He doesn’t want things to end like this. He can’t stand letting that be the last time he sees Woody. The sad look in his eyes as he waved goodbye to them. The warmth in his chest as he hugged Buzz in a final goodbye. 

No. He refuses to let that be the end.  
Buzz continues walking, the darkness and foliage of the trees blurring together as he passes them. Buzz is distantly aware of how far he’s walking, but he doesn’t stop. Not until he sees the silhouette of the Carnival in the distance, lights shut off in the dark. 

It must have been hours. His steps as a toy are small, but he didn’t notice. He moves faster then, searching for a familiar figure in the distance. He spots him sooner than he expected. His lanky silhouette standing out atop the Carousel tent where they had left him. 

“Hey, Sheriff!” Buzz calls out before he can stop himself. A wave of happiness washes over him as he sees Woody, proving that their goodbye would not be the last he saw of him. 

“Buzz?!” He hears Woody asks in disbelief, turning towards him. He barely is able to stop Buzz’s tackle hug, nearly sending them both over the roof. 

“What are you doing here?!” Woody asks in disbelief, pulling away from the hug with his hands on Buzz’s shoulders. 

“I’m staying.” Buzz decides then, rather impulsively. 

Woody laughs. “That’s a good one Buzz.” 

Buzz frowns. “I’m not kidding.” Buzz knows he made the choice quickly, but he also knows it’s the right choice. He wants to stay here. 

Then it’s Woody’s turn to frown. “What do you mean Buzz?” 

“I mean I’m staying here with you. I’m not going back.” 

Woody sighs. 

“Bonnie needs you Buzz. Our friends need you. You have to go back.” 

“I don’t want to go back.” Buzz states bitterly. 

Woody’s eyes widen, surprised at Buzz’s tone. He’s never heard him sound so bitter before. With Buzz there was always that confident optimism, the belief that things would work out. He doesn’t look like that now though. 

“I’m tired of it Woody. I’m tired of making everyone else happy. Why does it have to be us? Why do you have to stay here and help the toys? Why do I have to go back to Bonnie? Why do we always end up being the ones that need to sacrifice everything for others?” 

Woody gives him a sad laugh, turning away from him to sit down back on top of the Carousel, eyes focused on the distance. 

“We’re toys Buzz. It’s what we were made for.” 

Buzz falters. The unfairness of it all making him lash out in anger. How can Woody be so dismissive? How can he just accept that this is how their lives are supposed to be?

“Well maybe I don’t want to be a toy anymore!” Buzz shouts, turning to walk away. He feels stupid for lashing out. It’s not Woody’s fault, but Buzz yelled at him anyway. 

“That’s wishful thinking.” He hears Woody echo sadly. 

Buzz leaps down from the Carousel, putting distance between himself, and Woody’s lanky figure sadly looking out into the distance. It makes him so angry. So angry that Woody always puts everyone else before himself. So angry that Buzz has to go back simply because he’s Bonnie’s toy. 

He shouldn’t be thinking that Buzz knows. He knows he’s supposed to love and cherish Bonnie. She’s their kid, she chose them. It occurs to Buzz though, that they didn’t choose her. They had been Andy’s toys first, and it was Andy who brought them together. Why now, should they be split apart? 

Buzz thinks as he walks. He thinks of ways that they can fix this, ways where everyone could be happy. Buzz knows deep down that even if he could convince Woody to come back with him he couldn’t bear to see him in Bonnie’s closet, alone in the dark. Woody won’t let him stay here either so that rules out that option. 

Buzz kicks a rock in frustration, hearing the clink of glass when it hits something. He looks up to see the Antique Store in front of him. Second Hand Antiques. 

Buzz looks up at the cluttered shelves through the glass, before something catches his eye. 

No. It can’t be. 

Buzz climbs up the side of the building and sneaks in through the window. Thankfully unlocked. 

He falls down to the carpeted floor, landing as quietly as possible. He doesn’t want the toys in here to hear him, or the cat. 

Buzz sneaks quietly to the back of the store, staring up at the gold object that caught his eye. It’s a peculiar shape, but it looks just like Buzz expected it to. 

A surge of foolish, naive hope rushes through him as he climbs the shelf. If this worked, it could be the solution to all of their problems. It could make everyone happy. 

He makes it to the top of the shelf and stares at the golden item. 

A magic lamp. 

Buzz heard Bonnie’s parents telling her magic lamps grant three wishes if you rub them. That’s what Buzz needs. A wish to make everything better. To make them happy. 

He reaches his hand out and rests in on the lamp. It feels cold to the touch. Dead. It instantly plants a seed of doubt in his mind that there’s no way this will work.

He rubs his hand back and forth on the lamp for almost a minute. 

It feels just as cold as it did before. Nothing magical about it. 

“Come on!” He whispers, trying again. 

He wills it to work. He needs it to work.

He keeps trying despite himself, wanting the stupid lamp to wish all his problems away. The lamp remains cold, and Buzz falters. 

He moves away from it. Now that he looks closer, he can see spots on the lamp that look gray. Was the gold...just gold paint?

Buzz lifts the lamp up and it feels like a punch to the gut when he sees “Made in China” written on the bottom. 

His heart sinks. It’s just a toy. 

Just like him. 

He laughs bitterly and sinks down against the shelf. He was a fool for thinking it would work. 

He sits there feeling sorry for himself wondering what he’ll do next when he hears someone speak. 

“Unfortunate it doesn’t work like it’s supposed to isn’t it?” 

Buzz’s eyes widen and he shifts around rapidly looking for the source of the sound. He didn’t see any other toys on the shelves before. 

Then Buzz freezes, careful not to move a muscle as he sees who’s looking at him. 

It’s the old woman. The one who owns the antique store. Buzz remains as still as possible, though the old woman isn’t facing him. Maybe there was another person in the store somewhere? Or maybe she was talking to herself? Old people go senile sometimes, Buzz reassures himself. 

“It’s rude not to answer when someone talks to you.” He hears come from the woman’s mouth, echoing through the empty store. 

Buzz swallows down the panic he feels. Maybe she was sleepwalking? And talking? 

He remains still, though he can see the woman turn ever so slightly, just so she’s staring right at him. 

If Buzz could sweat he’s sure he’d be drenched by now. He forces himself to be still though. That’s what Woody would have done, he’s sure. 

The old woman sighs. 

“You toys. Always trying to keep up the charade.” 

Buzz feels a whole new surge of fear hit him. There’s no denying it. She’s talking to him. 

She sighs again, turning away getting ready to leave. Buzz watches. He can’t help but feel like he’s losing some kind of chance by staying silent. He wants to know why she knows. 

“Were you...talking to me?” Buzz asks before he can help himself.

The old woman whips around, piercing gaze landing on him. 

God, how stupid could he be?! If Woody were here he would kill him! Toys weren’t supposed to reveal themselves! 

The old woman’s eyes crinkle, and her smile curves up on one side.

“You don’t see anyone else around do you?” She asks. 

Buzz looks around the store. There’s no other toys or humans around so far as he can see. 

He shakes his head. 

The woman laughs, a deep cackling sound resonating from her throat. 

“Oh, you’re a funny one! I am a bit surprised though, normally toys are better at hiding. Like that cowboy today. He moved around left and right through my store, but by the way he stood frozen you never would have guessed he could move.” 

Woody. 

“You mean Woody?” He finds himself asking. 

The woman narrows her eyes. “Was that his name? He was a lively one. I was sure he’d make it out with his voice box. He did you know, but he came back and gave it up anyway. What a pure little heart he had, giving it up for the doll.”

Buzz feels a stab of anger. Woody wasn’t supposed to give up his voice box. That was his. For Gabby Gabby to rip it out of him, pluck it from Woody’s lanky body like plucking an apple from a tree makes Buzz seethe with anger. 

“I’m guessing you didn’t like that very much Mr. Space toy.” She says, noting his expression.

“How do you...know all this?” Buzz asks.

He had never known another human that knew toys could talk, well other than Sid. But this woman seems very much different from Sid. Clever, Buzz thinks. Just like Woody.

The woman shrugs, moving quicker than Buzz would anticipate based on her age. 

“I know lots of things. Come with me and I’ll tell you more, away from any listeners.” 

The woman adds, peering around the store. 

Buzz realizes then that she’s right. Other toys might hear if they aren’t careful, and he doesn’t want anyone to hear what they talk about. 

He climbs down from the shelf, following the woman as she walks back through a hallway further into the store. 

If Woody were here he would be panicking. She had seen him, there’s no denying that now. Buzz couldn’t turn back even if he wanted to. 

He follows the old lady down the hall to what looks like an office, though it’s so full of clutter he doubts its usable. He sees things lining the shelves he can’t quite identify. 

There are jars full of different plants and herbs. There are smaller things in some of the jars too. Bones, he thinks. And feels a shiver run through him. Of course, Buzz doesn’t have any bones. It’s not like he should be worried about losing those. 

The woman sits across from him, motioning for him to join her. 

Buzz climbs up the side of the desk and sits on it, facing the old woman. 

She waits for him, a slight curve of a smile hinting she knows Buzz will want to talk first. He does, and his mind is so full of questions that it’s hard to believe he settles on one. 

“Who are you?”

She laughs then, and again Buzz is surprised by the cackling sound she makes.

“My name is Margaret if you must know, but I don’t believe that’s the answer you were seeking.” 

Buzz nods. 

“I guess what comes closest to what I am is a witch.”

“A witch?” 

Buzz frowns. The only witch he’s ever seen is the green one with a straw broom Bonnie’s parents set out for Halloween. 

“That’s the problem with you toys. Never have enough worldly knowledge about these things. Though the same could be said for people, There are so many things in this world that nobody sees.” 

Buzz frowns. He wants to understand. He wants to know things beyond the realm of a kids bedroom. He wants that freedom. 

Margaret pauses. “Tell me little Space toy. What’s got you so worked up you tried to get a toy magic lamp to work? If you’re that desperate for a kid you could go with my granddaughter. She’d be happy to have a new toy to play with.” 

Buzz shakes his head. 

“I don’t want a kid.” 

He states, words tasting bitter on his mouth. It’s the truth, he doesn’t want another kid. He doesn’t want Bonnie. Deep down he knows, even if by some miracle Andy were to take them back, he wouldn’t want to be with him either. 

Margaret laughs again. 

“What’s funny?” Buzz demands. 

“No. I’m not laughing at you dear. I’m laughing at the world, It can be so cruel.” 

She adds, looking thoughtfully at him. 

Buzz thinks of his disorientation when he first arrived in Andy’s bedroom. When he was so convinced he wasn’t a toy. He thinks of Sid, tormenting toys in his backyard. He thinks of Andy, packing them all away in a box to collect dust in the attic forever. He thinks of Lotso trapping them in Sunnyside and resetting him. How he would have been stuck like that if not for Woody. 

Then he thinks of Woody. Slumped over in Bonnie’s closet. 

Cruelty of the world doesn’t even begin to describe it. 

“What’s your name little toy?” Margaret asks him. 

“Buzz.” He whispers. 

“Wait here for a minute Buzz.” She says, leaving the room. 

She returns after a short time, holding the toy lamp in her hands.

“Why did you get that? It’s only a toy” he mutters. 

She nods. “You’re right of course. It is only a toy.”

Margaret says, staring at it intensely.

“But it doesn’t have to be.”

Buzz whips his head up in surprise. 

He waits then, holding his breath as seconds pass. 

He watches Margaret’s hand sweep over the lamp, and her murmur something to it. 

Buzz’s eyes are glued to the lamp, fixated on what he’s seeing. A soft golden glow appears from the lamp, and it gives off a thrum of energy that makes it seem alive. No longer the cold mold of metal Buzz touched earlier. 

“I don’t understand.” Buzz whispers staring at it. 

Margaret moves the lamp closer until it is right in front of him. Gold gleaming in his eyes. 

“It’s quite simple really. 3 wishes, rub the lamp to get each one.” 

Buzz stares at it. He reaches out with one hand resting on the lamp. He can feel the energy of it thrumming around. The lamp feeling very much alive in his hand right now. 

“Be careful what you wish for Buzz.” 

Buzz keeps his hand frozen on the lamp. If he does this, there might be no turning back. There might not be a chance to see his friends again, to see Bonnie again. 

His hand moves across the lamp.

“I wish we were human.”


	2. Chapter 2

Woody stares out into the dark, not looking for anything in particular. Instead, he’s thinking. Mind swarming with memories he doesn’t want to think about now. He thinks of Andy, back when he was younger. When he would spend every day playing with them. When Woody had a place to be, and with friends beside him. 

It feels so strange to think about those memories now. He feels like a new toy entirely. 

He’s always been cared for. He’s always been wanted. 

Woody never had to worry about being left in the closet, because Andy would never have done that to him. Not any of them. Andy always played with all his toys. 

Andy is gone though, and he left his toys to Bonnie. 

Bonnie, who Woody tried to love just like Andy. 

Now though, his time with a kid was over. This would be his new purpose. To stay here and help toys find kids of their own. He would give them what he experienced. That was what would keep him going. 

To stay here with Bo Peep, and to give toys a new future. Like he had done with Gabby Gabby. 

Like he had done giving Jessie his badge.

Woody sits on the carousel for some time. He doesn’t want to get off, because he knows he’ll have to find Buzz. He knows he’ll need to convince him to go back, and he knows Buzz won’t want to. 

It’s ironic in a way. When he first met Buzz, he wanted nothing more than to be rid of him. Woody wanted to be Andy’s favorite alone, he hated the idea of competition. 

Disliking Buzz though? That didn’t last long. All it had taken was for Sid to kidnap them. 

He and Buzz grew closer that day than he had been with any Toy. They were Woody and Buzz. Best friends. It was always them. Always them who saved each other through every hardship they faced. 

He doesn’t think he’s fully come to terms with it. The idea that he won’t see Buzz again. He doesn’t think Buzz has either, judging by how he came back. It leaves part of him feeling hollow. Like his voice box isn’t the only thing missing. 

Woody sighs. He wishes it was easier. He wants Buzz to stay, he does. But he can’t. It wouldn’t be fair. Not to Bonnie, who’s already lost one of her toys. Not to Jessie or Hamm or Slink, or any of their other friends. With Woody gone, they needed a leader. They needed Buzz. 

Woody looks out to the sky. It’s still dark now, but will no doubt be morning soon. 

He’ll have to go get Buzz and convince him to go back. He’ll have to start moving now to make it back to Bonnie’s RV in time. 

He braces himself to get up until suddenly he doesn’t have to. 

Because he’s falling. 

Woody doesn’t realize it until he slams into the ground. It knocks the wind out of him, and he lands with a harsh grunt. 

Fortunately, the fall was only a few feet. Unfortunately, the sensation feels much more painful than the falls he’s had before. 

Woody’s fallen from all sorts of things. Beds and dressers, even a windowsill. 

None of those have ever left him feeling like this before though. 

He looks up at the carousel tent, figuring he must have slid off it on accident. 

When he looks up at it though, he sees something unexpected. 

The tent is ripped. Almost as if...something heavy fell through it. 

It’s shocking to Woody because he knows he doesn’t weigh enough to make the tent rip. Even if it did the hole he made would be much smaller. 

Woody stands up, and immediately something feels off. Everything looks...smaller to him. More normal sized. Some of the carnival rides are at eye level now, rather than way above him. 

That’s strange. 

Maybe he fell on top of something?

Woody looks down, only to be met with grass. Huh. So he did land on the ground. 

He reaches his hand out to confirm it’s real grass and that’s when he notices it. 

His hand. 

Woody stares at it. He can’t believe what he’s seeing. 

His hand is no longer how he knows it. The small, pale thing with the glossy shine of plastic over it. 

No. This hand is much larger. With detail that couldn’t possibly be on a toy. 

Woody looks down at it, the feeling of pure horror rising in his being.

How is this possible?!

He’s...a human?!

Woody yelps, and stumbles backward landing harshly on the grass. He looks down to see very human looking legs. They are thicker than his own, making the proportion of them more even. 

He reaches his hands up to his face, only to find that it is not as large as it was when he was a toy. It’s smaller now, and he can feel his hat resting on...his hair?!

He feels it beneath his cowboy hat, much softer and warmer than the cold plastic of his toy hair. 

Wait? What is he saying??? Not his toy hair! That was his real hair! And this, this soft stuff beneath his hat was just an illusion. 

Surely this was just a dream. He must have fallen asleep on the carousel after arguing with Buzz. Yeah, that must be it! 

He stands up rapidly, fumbling around for a moment. 

He pinches himself hard, worried when he feels real pain. As a toy, he did feel pain, but not like this. 

With every passing second, Woody grows more worried. It’s harder to believe that it isn’t real, that this isn’t reality. 

Woody’s concentrating hard, trying to break whatever fever dream he must be having when something slams into him. 

The full weight of another being sends him crashing down to the ground. 

“Woody!” He hears them exclaim. 

Woody blinks, eyes trying to adjust and see who this is in the dark. 

The person, who indeed is a person and not a toy, is shorter than him. That he can tell even from being on the ground. They look more muscular than he does, though Woody didn’t exactly spend much time looking at his new body. The outfit they’re wearing looks awfully familiar, and Woody can see a mess of blonde curls peeking through beneath a purple cap. He stares into a set of blue eyes. 

No. It can’t be. 

“Buzz?!” Woody shouts in disbelief. 

Buzz’s head nods furiously, hair bouncing as he did so. 

If Buzz was human, that could only mean one thing. It wasn’t a dream. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Buzz is ecstatic. He’s radiating happiness like never before. It worked. His wish came true! They were human! 

The lamp really did work. Speaking of which Buzz patted his back pocket to make sure the lamp was still there where he tucked it away before he ran off to find Woody. 

It’s still there, warm metal thrumming under his touch. 

This is one of the best moments of Buzz’s life. Even if Woody is gasping and panicking beneath him.

Buzz quickly leans back, giving Woody space to get up. 

Buzz can barely contain the smile on his face. He reaches up to touch it, amazed. He can feel lips there, real lips, with hard teeth beneath them. 

It feels like a dream come true, but when he glances at Woody he feels his smile fade. 

Woody looks...scared. He looks good as a human, don’t get him wrong. Woody certainly looks different, but not bad. His torso and legs are larger now, looking much more defined and sturdy than his toy legs. His arms are fuller too, and his face smaller. His eyes are smaller too, but the brown orbs still look just as familiar as they did before. Woody’s brown hair sticks out from his cowboy hat, just like Buzz always thought it would. 

Woody looks less than pleased with what’s going on though. His eyes look surprised, and for the first time in forever Woody looks frightened.

“Woody? Are you okay?” Buzz asks, concern for him rising. 

Woody is scattered when he answers. Words coming out quickly and loudly. 

“Buzz! Something’s wrong! We’re! You! Me! Human!” He yells. 

Buzz frowns, reaching a hand out to Woody’s shoulder to steady him.

“Woah Woody! Calm down it’s alright.” 

“No!” Woody says frantically shaking his head. 

“We’re human Buzz!” 

“I know.” Buzz says calmly. 

Woody’s eyes widen further, and Buzz watches the crease between his eyebrows appear. 

“What do you mean you know?” Woody demands. 

“I wished for it. For us to be human.” Buzz answers. 

Woody’s face is pure disbelief. Making Buzz feel nervous. This wasn’t quite the reaction he was hoping for. 

“You...wished for it? That’s not possible.” Woody says, trying to make himself believe it.

To be fair Buzz wouldn’t have believed it either at first. 

Buzz shakes his head. “It is possible Woody! The old lady in the antique store gave me a wish! I wished for us to be human. Now we can finally live freely. The way we want to.” 

Woody looks like his mind is going to explode with all the information he’s taking in. 

“We aren’t...meant for this Buzz! We’re toys! You have to go back to the RV! Back to Bonnie and our friends. I have to stay here with Bo Peep, giving toys a future.”

Buzz frowns. “I don’t want that.” He states simply, never one to beat around the bush. He feels selfish for saying it, but Buzz finds he doesn’t care. 

Woody stares at him, confused. 

“Do they even know you’re gone Buzz?” 

Buzz grimaces. He didn’t tell his friends. He knew if he told them he was going back to Woody, they never would have let him go. 

Woody sighs. “Come on. We’ve got to go tell them what happened. They’ll be worried if you don’t go back soon.” 

Buzz nods. He doesn’t particularly want to go back to the RV, but he should say goodbye to his friends. Now that he’s decided to live as a human. 

Woody grabs him by the arm and pulls him along, back to the road the RV took when it was leaving. Woody’s hand is warm, and Buzz can feel it solidly grasping him. It feels different than a toys touch. Better, he thinks. 

“How did this happen again Buzz?” Woody asks, relinquishing his hold on him. He seems calmer now. 

Buzz frowns at the loss. “The old woman in the antique store, she gave a wish. She was magic Woody, she told me she was a witch.” 

Woody’s eyes widen. “A witch?!”

Buzz nods. 

Woody looks off thoughtfully. “I’ve never met a witch before, but judging by the movies Andy used to watch, the wish shouldn’t last long.”

Buzz frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that the wish probably won’t last long. It’ll fade at the end of the day, or sunrise or whatever she cast that will break the spell, and turn us back to toys.”

“We won’t turn back.” Buzz states confidently. Maybe that’s what was holding Woody back. He had it in his mind that this would fade, that they would go back to toys and this was the only way he could cope with that. 

“How do you know Buzz?”

Buzz falters. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know what will happen, he doesn’t know if the wish will last forever. He doesn’t know if Margaret’s wish isn’t just some trick. He doesn’t want to think about those things, because he doesn’t want them to be true. 

Woody nods, and they continue the walk to the RV. 

“Do you…like it? Being human I mean.” Buzz asks quietly. He doesn’t want to upset Woody, but he has to know.

“Yes.” Woody whispers after a minute.

“You know I always wondered what it would be like. Watching Andy, I always pictured it to be amazing. This world, it’s built for them Buzz.” He says thoughtfully. 

Woody does like it. 

Buzz doesn’t have much time to reflect on it, because soon enough the familiar vehicle of the RV comes into view, just when the sun started to rise. It’s hard to believe they made it there that quickly, walking as a human was certainly faster. 

On the top of the RV, he sees Rex keeping a lookout. For him probably. 

“Rex!” He calls out. 

He watches as the green dinosaur turns to look at them, recognizing his voice. But then, he goes completely still. 

Buzz frowns, wondering why his friend stopped moving. 

“It’s because we look like humans.” Woody says.

Oh. Rex went still because he thought they were human. 

They move closer to the RV. 

“Rex! It’s me Buzz! And Woody!” 

Buzz can see his eyes move just a fraction. Not enough to give him away to another human, but someone who’s been a toy his whole life can tell that Rex sees them. 

“Buzz? Woody?!” Rex asks in disbelief. Maybe because he recognized their outfits, or because Buzz knew his name. Or just because out of all their friends, Rex handles pressure the worst. 

“You...you guys are!”

“Human.” Buzz finishes, leaving Rex looking like he might pass out. 

Then, Buzz looks toward the window and sees Jessie peeking out, ever so stealthily. She would have been great at Star Command. 

“Jessie!” He hears Woody whisper, noticing her as well. 

“Woody? Buzz? What happened?!” Jessie exclaims in shock. 

“Tell everyone to come outside. I’ll explain everything.” Buzz says. 

Jessie nods, and a minute later Buzz can see the rest of his friends and Bonnie’s toys climbing out of the RV. 

It’s crazy now, how different they are in size. Jessie barely comes up to his shin, and Woody’s taller than Buzz, making her look even smaller next to him. 

All of the toys are looking at them in surprise, wondering what happened to their friends. 

“Woody!” He hears some of the toys exclaim, running over to him. 

“Hey guys, did you miss me?” Woody says, kneeling on the ground to be closer to them. Woody is very careful where he moves, and he doesn’t reach out to touch any of them. He’s worried, Buzz realizes. He doesn’t want to hurt any of them, doesn’t want to hold them the wrong way in case of breaking them. Or maybe...he doesn’t want to pick them up because it feels wrong. Wrong to see his companions of so many years mere toys in his hands. 

“What’s going on out here?!” Hamm says loudly, looking between Buzz and Woody, confused. 

“Y...you’re humans?!” Mrs. Potato yells out. 

“How’d this even happen anyway?” Slink asks from his spot by Woody’s boot. 

“I wished for it.” Buzz states simply. 

“Wish? What, on a star?!” Mr. Potato head says, scoffing. 

“On a lamp”, Buzz corrects.

“A lamp?” Dolly says, frown on her face. 

“As in a magic lamp?” 

Buzz nods. 

“I thought magic lamps were supposed to give three wishes.” Mr. Pricklepants says stuffily, arms crossed. 

“Yeah!!! Magic lamps give three wishes! Not just one!” Trixie says, jumping in. 

“Well I uh, I do have three. I used the first to turn Woody and I human.” Buzz says reluctantly.

“You never told me that.” Woody says, looking up at Buzz, a look of hurt crossing his face. 

Buzz grimaces. Woody’s right, he didn’t tell him that. He’d like to think it was just forgetfulness, but Buzz knows there’s more to it than that. 

“You’ve had two other wishes this whole time! Wish us back Buzz!” Woody yells. 

“Now hold on a minute Woody. I only have two more, we shouldn’t waste them.” Buzz counters. 

“Waste them? What do you mean? We’re running out of time, you have to get back in the RV Buzz!” 

“I told you I don’t want to Woody!” 

“Uh, guys! Bonnie’s parents are up. They’re starting the RV!” Rex shouts from the top. 

A look of panic crosses Woody’s face and he stands up. 

“Buzz!” He yells. 

“Just hang on!” 

“Alright everyone listen!” Jessie screams, commanding their attention.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. All toys, in the RV now! Buzz and Woody, I’ll find out where we’re going next and you guys will meet us there as soon as you can alright!” 

Jessie climbs back into the RV and comes rushing out a minute later with a piece of paper in her hand. 

“Here! It’s the address. We’ll be staying there for two nights so you should have plenty of time to meet us!”

Woody reaches down to take it from her. He helps the toys then, gently lifting them through the window to get them inside quicker. 

Once all the toys make it inside, Buzz and Woody move away from the RV just in time. 

The RV starts, and before it leaves Buttercup leans his head out the window. 

“Here guys! You might need this!” He whispers, tossing them a wallet. 

Buzz catches it, and before he can say anything else Bonnie’s dad starts the RV and drives. 

Leaving Buzz and Woody standing in the wake of its smoke. 

Buzz looks over at Woody to see him with an unhappy look on his face, arms crossed. 

“So.” Buzz says awkwardly. 

“Where to next?”


	3. Chapter 3

To say that Woody was mad was an understatement. 

Mad doesn’t even begin to describe the irritation he feels walking on the side of the road with the hot sun baking him and Buzz grinning like an idiot beside him. 

Woody’s been mad before of course. Mad when Sid was blowing up toys in his backyard, mad when Al stole him from Andy’s house wanting to sell him to Tokyo, when Lotso tried to trap them all in Sunnyside and then incinerate them, but he’s never really felt like this before. 

Because you don’t think the same way anymore, you’re human now, his mind tells him. He denies it. Every emotion he can feel now he felt as a toy. Or at least, he thinks he did. What could be different? He doesn’t know.

Looking over to Buzz though, he seems completely carefree. Before Woody had always thought Buzz looked happy, looking at him now though, he’s never seen Buzz look more alive. 

Which hits him harder than he expected. It makes him question whether Buzz was happy all those years. Or...if he was only pretending. 

Buzz removed his purple cap a few minutes ago, letting the blond curls of his hair fall out. It’s interesting to Woody that he even has hair under the cap. 

His outfit looks different than when he was a toy too. It’s got the same colors, the same design just without the hard plastic. 

His helmet is gone too, it must have vanished when he was transformed, Woody thinks. 

It’s hard to stay mad when he sees Buzz look over and smile at him. Most of his anger fades away. They’ve been friends for so long, he can’t stay mad. Even if Buzz did neglect to tell him about the three wishes. 

Though there is one thing he can continue to be mad about, this heat. It’s scorching, and his clothing isn’t making it any easier. Woody’s never been able to sweat before, but now he can feel it all over. 

It’s frustrating, to say the least. 

Buzz notices. 

“Are you hot?” 

“No. I’m fine.” Woody mutters. He’s had worse problems. 

Buzz stares at him, narrowing his eyes. Then in another few minutes, the road they’re walking alone opens up, and Woody can see a strip of stores. 

He continues walking, pushing through the heat. 

Or at least he would keep walking if Buzz wasn’t pulling him toward the stores. 

“Buzz! What are you doing?” he asks, looking around frantically. 

There are other people around them, other humans. Some look over at him with a peculiar glance.

Woody isn’t used to this. He’s used to being still when people are around. Not moving, not at all. 

Buzz isn’t paying attention though. At least, not to him. 

“Buzz!” He tries again.

Woody is quite literally dragged into a store. 

The air conditioning feels nice, but it’s strange being surrounded by so many people. 

There are humans everywhere. Humans buying groceries, walking around the store, talking to each other. 

Woody can’t help but feel out of place...like he doesn’t belong here. It’s such a different feeling being human. Even after all the years he spent with Andy, watching him grow and learn, it still feels unique to him. 

To actually feel the sun on him, the cool of the air conditioning, to feel the warmth of Buzz’s hand on his shoulder. 

He’s not surprised Buzz wished for this. 

The first moment he met Buzz, the first moment he came tumbling out of the box in Andy’s room all those years ago with a fake laser beam pointed at him Woody knew. 

Knew that Buzz thought he was human. 

Knew he had no idea he was a toy. Buzz had no idea about his limits, about what he could do and what he was meant for. 

Woody knew it was hard for Buzz to come to terms with being a toy. 

Especially when Buzz felt so powerful, so invincible. Of course he did, he was Buzz Lightyear. He could fly, he could talk, he could shoot lasers for crying out loud. Star command had trained him to be the best space ranger in the academy, and to find out he was a toy, he knew that was crushing. 

The others didn’t know. They weren’t at Sid’s house. They didn’t see Buzz come to terms with being a toy. They didn’t watch Woody convince Buzz that there was still life to be lived. They had a kid that loved them, they had Andy and that was more than enough for Buzz to snap back to his normal self.

“Hey man, that is some sick Buzz Lightyear cosplay!” 

Woody turns around, startled to see another person talking to Buzz. 

Buzz frowns, noticing the human. Woody’s heart quickens, they aren’t supposed to talk to humans. It’s rule number one in the toy handbook, even though that doesn’t exist. 

“Oh, right. Thank you!” Buzz says with a smile, and a minute later the man walks away. 

Woody lets out a sigh of relief. 

“What’s cosplay?” Buzz says, eyebrows knitted. 

Woody shakes his head.

“Don’t ask me I’ve never heard of it.” Woody says frowning. 

If he had to guess though, It’s got something to do with Buzz’s outfit. That guy probably thought Buzz was dressing up like the toy Buzz Lightyear. 

Woody corrects himself. Buzz Is Buzz Lightyear. He’s not dressed as him, he is him. 

Buzz smiles. 

“Well, you’ve been here longer than me sheriff. I figured you know more about it.” Buzz says, grinning. 

He’s right. Woody has been around longer than Buzz. From what Woody can remember he’s always been with Andy, his earliest memories are with him. Admittedly, he’s got a better understanding of the human world than most toys do. Some toys don’t even leave their Kid’s bedroom. 

Woody though, he’s been all over. He’s been in other houses, other buildings, heck he’s even been in other states. So has Buzz, Woody thinks. 

When Woody thinks about it, all of their adventures had been to bring them back to Andy. Or more recently, to Bonnie. They had never been true adventures, with freedom ahead. No. Their goal was something different entirely, they wanted to go back to their kid. 

A distant, cruel thought pops into his head. Is that what Buzz wanted? Did he ever want to go back? 

Woody shakes it off. He can’t think about it. There’s no reason to. Buzz loved Andy, he reassured himself, he wanted to go back. He loves Bonnie too, Woody knows. Buzz wants to go back. 

“Woody!” Buzz says, snapping Woody back to reality. 

“Huh?” Woody asks. 

“I think we should get new clothes. It’s hot outside.” 

Woody frowns. He’s had this outfit for as long as he can remember. Parting with it, he just can’t. 

“Huh? Clothes? We can’t pay for those!” Woody knows they need money to pay for things here, not having it might be a saving grace for his cowboy outfit. 

Buzz holds up a wallet in his hand. Woody frowns before he remembers Buttercup giving it to Buzz. Woody sighs, he doesn’t know where Buttercup managed to get that. Knowing Buttercup, he either stole it from the carnival or Bonnie’s dad. 

Woody’s obvious discomfort must be evident because Buzz rolls his eyes at him.

“That doesn’t mean we have to get rid of our outfits you know.” Buzz says. 

“How’d you know I was thinking about that?!” 

“Because I know you.” 

Woody bites his lip, he’s never been good at hiding things, and Buzz is always too observant for his own good. 

Buzz doesn’t say anything more though, just walks back into the men’s section of the store and starts looking through the different clothing. Woody follows him after begrudgingly admitting to himself that his outfit isn’t going to make him any less cool when they go back outside.   
He browses around the store for a bit, before he finds a shirt he’s drawn to right away. The shirt is black, and there are planets all over it. It’s littered with stars and spaceships too, and he can see little green aliens on it. It’s perfect, but not for him. Woody picks it up, and when he goes off to find Buzz he sees him picking out a sleeveless white vest. 

Great minds think alike because Buzz notices him and holds out the vest, grinning when he sees the shirt Woody’s holding. They laugh as they switch clothing articles, and Woody grabs another pair of identical jeans to the ones he’s wearing now. Buzz takes a different route as he grabs a pair of men’s athletic shorts. 

Woody raises his eyebrows at them and Buzz shrugs his shoulders. 

“It’s hot out. You can wear those if you want.” Buzz says before walking off to the changing room. 

Woody follows, not really knowing what he can say back to that. 

He changes quickly, leaving his brown leather boots and cowboy hat on as well as the new vest and jeans. He’s gotta say it feels much cooler without his yellow flannel and black and white vest on. He decides on keeping his belt and holster on. 

He folds up his clothing and takes it with him out of the changing room, unsurprised to see Buzz standing outside with a backpack in his hands. 

Woody put his clothes away in it, and Buzz zips it up and puts it on his shoulder. Good, now they don’t have to worry about that. 

He and Buzz walk to the front of the store to pay, and Woody turns to look in a mirror off to the side.

The reflection that greets him is shocking, to say the least. Woody knew he’d look different, but he didn’t think he’d look like...this. 

His arms are sticking out of his white vest, and Woody is surprised to see they no longer look as skinny as he remembers them. They look built, like the arms of men in movies Andy’s mom used to watch. He tucks his shirt in, wanting to have at least some resemblance to how he used to look. At least his hat and boots are still the same, as for the rest of him, well he certainly looks like a cowboy alright. 

He and Buzz make it to the front of the store, and Buzz grabs them two water bottles from a small fridge in the aisle. Both Woody and Buzz have been on enough shopping trips with Andy and his mom to know what to do now. Though Woody’s more used to sitting in the cart and watching Andy run off to find snacks then his is waiting in line to pay for things.  
Woody waits patiently enough, and he sees the woman standing in front of them turn around to look at him. 

Her eyes lock onto his, and Woody fights down the nervousness rising in his chest. Calm down, she doesn’t know you’re a toy. 

“Howdy,” Woody says, not knowing quite what to do. He doesn’t want to be rude though, and he’s seen Andy’s mom talk to people in the store hundreds of times. 

“Oh, hi!” The woman says, turning away again. 

He turns to Buzz but sees him preoccupied looking at the selection of candy. 

Rolling his eyes, he turns his attention back to the cashier. Waiting for this line to hurry up so they can get a move on already. 

The woman in front of him moves backward slightly, just quick enough for Woody to avoid, and she ends up hitting his chest.

He moves backward immediately, and she whips around. 

“My apologies Miss.” Woody states. 

Woody sees a faint red tint rise in her cheeks. Is she sick? Andy’s face used to get red like that when he was sick. Or there was that one time when he talked to a girl from his school on the phone, and his face lit up like a tomato. 

“Oh no it was my fault, I’m sorry.” She says, running a hand through her hair. 

Woody looks to Buzz again for some help, but he doesn’t turn around. 

The woman starts putting her groceries up on the belt and turns to look at Woody again. 

“You um, have a nice accent.” 

Accent? Does Woody have an accent? He never thought he did.

“Thank you.” Woody responds, sure she meant it as a compliment. 

It’s so strange to talk to a human. It goes against years of silence, and Woody finds himself desperately staring at Buzz to get his attention. 

Buzz doesn’t look over though, leaving Woody to handle this situation on his own.   
“Are you from the midwest?” The woman asks him.

Woody doesn’t have a clue what that is. He’s not really from anywhere, well besides Andy’s room, but he doubts that’s an acceptable answer. Woody does know that cowboys are from the wild west, so the midwest shouldn’t be too far off of that.

“Yes, I am.” Woody says, a blatant lie if he’s ever heard one. 

She nods before turning back to the cashier to pay. Buzz turns around then, but he seems oblivious to what just occurred. 

The lady moves away from the lane then after paying but doesn’t leave. She’s staring at him though, and it looks like she wants to say something. 

Woody walks over, leaving Buzz to handle paying for everything. 

The woman looks nervous, though Woody isn’t sure why. If anything he should be nervous, he’s been a toy for years and suddenly turned into a human who’s now got to interact with people. 

“Would you...give me your number?” The woman asks, and Woody stares at her. 

What does that mean? He used to have a number on his tag before Andy cut it off. It was his factory ID number, but that forever ago. Could that be what she means? Woody’s about to ask her when Buzz comes running over and grabs him by the arm.

“Woody! Woody! These candy bars are called Mars Bars, but they can’t really be from Mars, right? I mean Star Command said Mars wasn’t a good planet for sustenance but I wonder what they would taste like! I bet they...Oh” Buzz says, seeming to notice the woman standing near him. 

“Who are you?” Buzz asks, and the woman’s face turns bright red.

“I’m so sorry! I had no idea you were together. I’ll uh, just head out, ignore me.” She says, quickly rushing past them with her groceries. 

Buzz frowns and turns to him.

“What was that about?” 

Woody shakes his head. 

“I’ve got no clue. She wanted my number?” 

“What number?” Buzz asks, a perplexed look on his face. 

Woody shrugs. 

Buzz doesn’t say anything, but he passes Woody a bottle of water which he takes a much needed sip of. 

They walk out of the store after that, Woody eager to get on the road again. The sooner they make it to their friends, the sooner they can figure out what to do next. 

The sooner we’ll be toys again, Woody thinks. He shakes it away and starts walking back toward the road. He thinks it’s the way the RV went, though it would be much easier if they had a map. 

“Hey Woody, I’ve got an idea.” Buzz says. 

Woody follows Buzz’s eyes to the end of the shopping center where he sees a sign. 

Russ’s Rental Cars 

Woody frowns. “Rental cars?” 

Buzz nods. “It would be faster than walking. We’d get to the RV sooner.” Buzz says, knowing Woody would much rather get to their friends as quickly as possible. 

Woody nods reluctantly and follows Buzz inside the shop.

The man, Russ, who greets them at the counter is nice enough, and he tells them they have the option to rent a car up to a month, with varying levels of pricing. Woody doesn’t know the first thing about cars, but he does know they shouldn’t pick one too expensive and they shouldn’t request it for too long. There’s got to be a limit on the amount of cash in the wallet Buttercup gave them, and Woody is firmly against the credit card. It could alert whoever’s card it was that it had been used, and the last thing he and Buzz need is to have the police after them. 

He and Buzz eventually settle on a small car that looks like a similar type to the one Andy had and decide on taking it out for five days. That should be plenty of time. 

It’s a $100 downpayment and an additional $50 each day, which somehow they have more than enough cash for. Woody doesn’t know who Buttercup took this wallet from, but he’s not sure he wants to know. 

Russ hands them the keys for the car, and before Woody and Buzz can leave Buzz turns back to ask Russ something. 

“Hey Russ, what does it mean if someone asks for your number?” Buzz says, eyebrows furrowed. 

Russ’s eyes widen, and he looks taken aback by the answer before he laughs. 

“Well, I reckon it means they’d want to go out with you. You know, on a fancy dinner date or something.”

“Romantically?” Buzz asks, much to Woody’s chagrin. 

“I’d sure hope so.” Russ says, ending the conversation. 

“Come on Buzz.” Woody interjects, leaving the store. 

He misses the look on Buzz’s face. Though it was plain to see Buzz did not look happy about that, not at all. 

Buzz smiles it away before Woody can see him. 

He tosses Woody the keys.

“Let’s get going then, Sheriff.”


	4. Chapter 4

Buzz tosses Woody the keys, not expecting his surprised glance back at him. 

“You want me to drive?!” Woody asks incredulously. 

Buzz laughs. “Come on Woody I’ve seen you drive RC before.” 

Woody stares at him. 

“RC was a remote-controlled car! He was a toy! This is a real car!” 

“Come on there’s a GPS inside, besides, would you rather have me drive?” 

Woody ponders it. Buzz can drive spaceships and things, but a car? Woody would feel better if he drove. 

Woody sighs. “Alright fine.”

Fortunately, he’s had enough experience in the car to have a basic understanding of how things work. Andy’s Mom drove around with them in the car plenty of times. 

Woody starts the car and feels the engine rumble in the vehicle. 

He glances over at Buzz who’s grinning back at him. Tentatively, Woody puts his foot on the gas and starts to drive. It’s rather simplistic...so far. Not different at all from driving RC. 

Until other cars start appearing on the road. It all goes downhill from there. He’s yelling for Buzz to figure out where they’re going because somehow the GPS stopped working while cars are angrily honking behind him and yelling out the window. Woody even watches as one woman sticks up a finger on her hand. He’s got no clue what that means...but judging by the look on her face, it wasn’t good. 

“Buzz would you please figure out where we’re going!” Woody yells.

“I’m trying!” Buzz says tinkering with the GPS. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be good with technology?!”

“This isn’t a spaceship Woody! I’m out of my element here!” 

“You think I’m not?!” Woody says swerving to avoid a guy riding a bicycle. 

Cars are honking like crazy behind him, most likely because he’s going too slow. Andy’s mom never drove that fast though, so Woody refrains from pushing the speed limit.   
“You’re going too slow.” Buzz remarks from the passenger seat. 

“Thanks for the input, very helpful.” Woody adds sarcastically. 

“Just speed up Woody!” 

“Andy’s mom never went that fast!” 

“Andy’s mom was a middle-aged woman from the suburbs!” 

“Well, I…” Woody starts, before trailing off when he sees a sign in the distance. Freeway 1 Mile. 

Woody looks around and sees the road splits into more lanes, followed by an onslaught of cars.

“Woody!” Buzz warns, and then they really start panicking. The level of driving gets way more intense then what he was used to a minute ago, and now between Buzz yelling for him to get off the Freeway and the cars behind him honking and whizzing by Woody feels like he’s going to have a heart attack. And oh yeah, that’s possible now thanks to Buzz’s wish. 

Thankfully the GPS started working again right as Woody considers smashing through the guardrail to get off the road. Quickly following the GPS’s instruction, he gets off the freeway and onto a much smaller road, without many cars on it. 

Buzz breaks out into laughter a moment later, and Woody starts because it’s hard to stay serious when Buzz laughs. 

The only good thing about the whole Freeway experience is that it luckily put them closer to their destination. They had another 6 or 7 hours to go before they meet up with their friends and the RV. Jessie said they had until the next night to make it too, so Woody’s not particularly worried about the time. He’s made much closer calls before. 

Woody zones out into driving for the next few minutes before Buzz starts shaking his shoulder rapidly. 

“Woody! We have to pull over!” 

Woody frowns and looks over at Buzz expecting to see some sort of injury or life threatening issue to be going on, but no. 

Buzz is just pointing excitedly to a restaurant in the distance. When Woody looks closer he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing. It’s Pizza Planet. 

“I can’t believe it! Are we near the old house?” Buzz asks.   
Woody shakes his head. “It’s a chain Buzz. They have restaurants like that everywhere.”

Even if Pizza Planet wasn’t a chain Woody knew they weren’t near home. Not their old home, where Woody knew like the back of his hand. Not the old home with Wheezy and Buster and Sarge. With Molly and Bo Peep and Andy’s mom. 

Not the home with Andy… 

Woody can’t stop thinking about it. He can’t stop thinking about how times used to be so much simpler. Where he and his friends would go on crazy adventures all to get back to Andy. 

He remembers them all.

“Woody?” Buzz asks.

“Hm? What?”

“Can we stop?”

Woody nods. He wants to keep driving, but a short break wouldn’t do any harm. If Buzz wants to go look inside Pizza Planet Woody isn’t inclined to stop him. 

They’ll only be human for so long, Woody wants Buzz to enjoy it. 

Besides, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hungry. 

Woody pulls the car over to Pizza Planet, and he’s following a very eager Buzz inside. When they open the doors Woody is hit with an unexpected blast of nostalgia. 

Even though it’s a chain version of Andy’s Pizza Planet, it looks practically identical. There are still all the video games, still all the little kids running around. Woody can even see a claw machine with the same toy aliens in it. Just like the Aliens he knows. 

Woody wonders where they are now. He hasn’t seen them since they rescued him and his friends from the incinerator. 

Another addition to the mental list of lost toys. 

Woody places an order for food at the counter, while he watches as Buzz makes a beeline for the claw machine. 

Woody follows and sees him trying to talk to the toys inside. 

“Alright listen guys, If a kid named Sid ever comes in here, you do NOT and I mean DO NOT want to be taken home by him.” 

Woody laughs. “Come on Buzz we’re states away from the Pizza Planet Sid went to, besides he’s an adult now.” 

An adult like Andy, Woody thinks. 

“It doesn’t matter Woody! I need to warn them just in case! Star Command would want me to.” 

“Alright, I see your point.” Woody says staring at the aliens in the machine. He stares down at them. The unmoving toys inside the glass. He wonders how long they’ve been waiting there. How long they've wanted a kid to go home with.

That’s why you have to go back, he thinks. There are toys out there who need homes. There are dozens of them at the carnival, and that’s as good a place to start as any. He could be there with Bo Peep, making sure the toys there weren’t left alone. He would find them new homes with new kids. It was the right thing to do. 

“Hey, Woody let’s play a game!” Buzz says, jarring him from his thoughts. 

“Not the Claw machine.” Woody says, a sickening feeling pooling in his stomach thinking about playing it. Watching the metal claw mimic the way his hand moves. Watching it pick up one of the still bodies of the toys. Separating it from the rest of them. 

“No.” Buzz agrees. 

Then he grabs Woody’s arm and leads him over to a different machine. This one doesn’t involve any toys, so Woody joins Buzz at it. It’s some kind of racing game, and after a few rounds, it’s evident that Buzz is a much better racer than he is. 

“I won!” Buzz says confidently. 

“Alright you won, but I’m picking the next game.” Woody responds and next he and Buzz are playing a two-person shooting game. This time, it’s clear Woody’s got an advantage as he takes out multiple different enemies while Buzz is trying not to get killed. 

“I won this time.” Woody says. 

“Yeah alright, Mr. Sharpshooter.” Buzz says back teasingly. 

Woody’s about to suggest they play more games when he sees a server bring their food to a table. Good, he’s starving.   
He and Buzz go sit down. At first Woody thinks they may have ordered too much food, but after he and Buzz start eating it’s clear that’s not the case. 

Not because they need to be eating that much, no, it’s because neither of them ever knew how good food tasted. They’ve never had real food before, there was no reason to. Toys didn’t feel hungry. They didn’t have any taste buds either so it defeated the purpose of eating. 

Now though, Woody wonders how things can taste so good. After looking at Buzz guzzling down his soda and slices of Pizza faster than seems healthy, Woody comes to the conclusion that Buzz agrees. 

After eating almost everything they ordered Buzz leans back against the booth with a contented sigh. 

“I never knew how good it would taste.” Buzz comments. 

Woody nods his head in agreement. Woody hasn’t given it much thought but it feels...nice to be here. To sit in public with Buzz and eat a meal together. To not have to worry about humans or toys or crazy villains and adventures, but to just sit with him and have a normal meal together. It’s nice. 

Woody doesn’t let himself dwell on it though. This is temporary, he reminds himself. He’s going back to the carnival. Buzz is going back to the RV. That’s how things are. How they have to be. 

“So should we get back on the road Sheriff?” Buzz asks. 

Woody nods. “Why don’t you takeover Buzz.” Woody says and hands him the keys. 

______________________________________________________

Another twenty minutes and Buzz and Woody are cruising swiftly down the road. Buzz goes much faster than Woody did. Which is Kind of ironic because he’s positive Woody wants to get to their destination quicker than he does. 

Buzz doesn’t mind though. Woody was right about him going back. He should at least say goodbye to his friends now that he knows he’s leaving. 

He can’t give this up. He can’t 

Not when he finally knew how it felt to have the sun warm on his skin, to have the wind blow through his hair, to finally know what real food tastes like. 

To have Woody by his side, and to feel the warmth beneath his touch. He always thought it would be this way. That if Woody’s body wasn’t made of plastic it would hold more warmth and kindness than any human Buzz knew. 

As much as Woody wants to deny it, he can’t. Buzz can see through the cracks. He knows Woody likes being human, he knows it. All he has to do now is figure out what’s holding Woody back. He needs to know what it is so he can fix it. So he can ease Woody’s constant worrying. So he can find out why Woody is so reluctant to enjoy this gift. He has to figure it out. 

For now, though, Buzz lets himself relax. The road they’re taking now is not crowded at all anymore, so he doesn’t have to worry about and complicated driving maneuvers like Woody had to pull. 

Buzz leans over to look at Woody to see his eyes are closed. He’s taken his hat off in the car, and his brown hair is matted to his head because of it. Woody’s physique looks different too. Different, but still the same. He’s still got the lanky body, the willowy arms, and long legs. They’re a bit more muscular, but he looks good. Normal. 

Buzz knows that isn’t what Woody sees though. He’s gotten so used to being a toy over the years, so used to believing that this was his purpose in life. That’s why he’s so insistent to get back to being a toy. It’s familiar to him. It’s where he had his best memories. Memories with Andy wanting to play with him, memories of epic adventures with their friends. 

Woody doesn’t realize the limitations it put on them. He’s never thought about it like Buzz had. Buzz spent a lot of time thinking about those things. About how if they were human they wouldn’t have to have been trapped in Sid’s house for so long years ago, about how they wouldn’t have needed to spend days searching for Woody when Al had taken him and tried to sell him to Tokyo, about how they would have been able to get out of that stupid garbage truck that had taken them to the incinerator. 

If they were human Buzz wouldn’t have had to see all the moments where Woody was forced into a position he didn’t want to be in. Where he needed to do what was best for the good of the group.

Buzz hated it. He hated the way Woody so easily sacrificed for others. Hated the fact that Bonnie left him in the closet, that Bonnie took his badge and gave it to Jessie, hated that Gabby Gabby wanted his voice box and Woody let her take it.

He hated being so small. So useless. Unable to protect Woody or even himself from this world. 

Because it’s not meant for toys. This world is meant for humans, Buzz thinks, Woody’s words from earlier still echoing in his mind. 

Then he sees it, something so beautiful it takes his mind off of things immediately. It’s the ocean, he realizes. 

Buzz sees it in the distance, narrow road winding down to the edge of the coast. The water is shimmering brightly with the sun’s reflection off of it. The waves are crashing to the shore and Buzz can hear seagulls in the distance. 

The beach is empty. A paradise almost, with the warm sun in the background. 

“Woody.” Buzz whispers, and he feels Woody stir beside him. 

Woody’s eyes open, and he stares at the sea in the distance. His mouth is open in awe, and Buzz can see his eyes open wider, glancing at the water in amazement. 

They’ve never seen the ocean before. There were pictures of it in both Andy and Bonnie’s houses, but it’s never been so real. So close and tangible to them.

Buzz pulls off to the side of the road. 

“Buzz?” Woody asks questioningly. 

“Come on.” Buzz says softly, exiting the vehicle. 

Woody follows, and they walk toward the shimmering surf in the distance. 

Buzz always wondered what the ocean was like. He was a space ranger, there was never much opportunity to see something like the ocean. 

Looking at it in front of him though is enamoring. 

Surprisingly, Woody is the first to touch the ocean. He reaches his hand down and runs his fingers over the soft sand beneath the water. 

“It’s cold.” He says in surprise. 

Buzz reaches down to touch it. It is cold. Well, colder at least than he thought it would be. He strips off his shirt and shorts along with his shoes. 

“What are you doing?” Woody asks in disbelief. 

“I’m going for a swim.” Buzz says grinning and then he rushes into the water diving under one of the waves. 

Woody stands rigidly on the sand and Buzz gets a particularly wicked idea. 

He dips his head under the water and waits. Being a space ranger, Buzz had always needed to practice holding his breath. In case his helmet malfunctioned or something similar were to occur. Woody doesn’t know that though. 

Buzz waits a few more seconds, then he hears Woody a few feet away from him screaming his name. 

“Woody!” Buzz yells popping up out of the water near him. 

Woody screams and then falls over into the water, drenching him. 

Unfortunately, he’s still wearing his clothes. 

Buzz laughs. 

Woody splashes him. 

“God, I can’t believe I was worried about you Buzz!” Woody says exiting the water. 

“Woody! Come back I’m sorry.” 

Buzz watches as Woody takes off his clothing and sets it out to dry, rushing back into the water. 

“You’re gonna be sorry!” Woody says tackling Buzz into the next wave. Buzz just so happened to still be laughing and his mouth fills with saltwater when they go under. He coughs and sputters as Woody grins at him from a few feet away. 

Being ducked under the water was a price he was more than willing to pay though, because now he and Woody are standing in the waves, looking out into the distance. 

They could never do this as toys. Buzz would float away instantly. Even if he didn’t the water would seep into his body, drenching his batteries. He would still be able to talk he thinks because Woody could talk without his voice box. He wouldn’t be able to use his laser beam or extend his wings. 

Then there’s Woody, who’d be swept away by the ocean instantly. His soft toy body made of cotton would never be able to withstand something like this. The cotton would be drenched, and Woody would sink to the depths of the sea. Over time his body would rip apart, decayed by the ocean water. 

Buzz feels sick. 

“Hey Buzz, are you okay?” Woody says frowning. 

Woody places a hand on his shoulder. 

“Buzz?” 

Buzz hugs him. He reaches forward and wraps his arms around him. He needs to know that this is real. That Woody’s here and he doesn’t have to worry about the horrifying reality of what would happen to them if they were toys now. 

“Woah!” Woody says, giving him a reassuring pat on the back. 

“You alright Buzz?” 

Buzz can feel the vibrations of Woody’s voice from his chest. His long arms are wrapped around his torso, and Buzz can feel the warmth beneath them. 

“We’d be swept away if we were toys, Woody. We could never be here, like this.” Buzz states. 

Woody doesn’t say anything at first, but judging by the way he tenses against him Buzz knows Woody realizes he means more than just the ocean. 

“Buzz...I…” 

Woody starts, trailing off. Then he tenses completely and moves away from Buzz, staring at their car in the distance. 

When Buzz looks where he’s looking he sees it. Another car stopped alongside theirs. He sees two figures, but neither of them make any move to head towards the beach. What reason could they have to be stopped there? 

“Buzz, did you lock the car?” Woody asks. 

A tendril of panic runs up his spine. He didn’t lock it. 

“No, but the keys are in my shorts pocket on the beach! They can’t take the car.” 

“They aren’t taking the car!” Woody shouts, moving quickly to the shore. 

Buzz looks closer and he can see the figures get out of the car. He’s about to let out a sigh of relief when he sees that they’re holding something.   
The Backpack. 

Buzz rushes out of the water to see the figures get back in their own car and drive away as quickly as they came. Full-on panic seizes him now. They took the Backpack. 

Woody stares at their car retreating and he lets out an irritated sigh. 

“They took the backpack Buzz.” He says. 

Buzz nods. He’s sure if someone saw his face right now they’d wonder why he looks so panicked. 

“But that’s okay right Buzz? We don’t need those clothes! You could just wish us new ones when you wish us back! It’ll be fine!” 

Buzz takes a deep breath

“Woody...the lamp was in the backpack.”


	5. Chapter 5

Buzz is a little concerned. Partially because the backpack got stolen with the magic lamp inside, but also because the look Woody’s giving him implies he wants to kill him. 

“What did you say?” Woody asks.

Buzz swallows nervously. 

“I said the lamp was in that backpack,” Buzz repeats. 

Woody levels him with a glare then throws his hands up in the sky. 

“Great! This is just perfect, isn’t it!” Woody yells. 

“Come on take it easy Woody we can still get it back.” 

Woody is shaking his head while simultaneously trying to get dressed again. 

“We never should have stopped!” Woody says angrily. 

An unexpected look of hurt crosses Buzz’s features. 

“You can’t say that Woody! We stopped for a reason!” 

Woody rubs his face with his hand. 

“What are we doing Buzz? What am I doing? We were supposed to keep driving and make it to the RV! We were supposed to meet up with our friends!” 

“We’ll still go to them with or without the lamp Woody!” 

“We need that backpack Buzz.” 

Buzz dresses quickly and follows Woody to the car. As much as Buzz doesn’t think Woody should take the wheel right now, he says nothing. He’s in no position to try and reason with Woody while he’s angry. Buzz has seen Woody get angry his fair share of times, but it’s rare for the anger to be directed at him. 

Buzz knows that’s not really the case. He knows Woody’s mad at whoever stole their backpacks. On some level though, Buzz is sure Woody resents that Buzz wished for them to be human without consulting him first. 

What could Buzz have done though? The decision was so impulsive. He didn’t want to stop and think about it. He wanted to reach for freedom, he wanted that to be their way out of being toys. To finally be free from the cycle of loss and disappointment. He wanted Woody to be free. 

Speaking of Woody, he’s driving down different streets like a maniac, expecting whoever took the backpack, to just appear out of thin air. 

“Woody…” Buzz starts, but Woody isn’t too keen on listening. 

For Woody, that backpack is much too important to leave behind. Aside from the outfits they’ve had forever, it’s also got the lamp. Woody’s still fixated on getting back to being a toy. He can’t do that without the lamp. 

Buzz feels angry at himself for the small part of him that wished they wouldn’t find the backpack. That even if they lost the lamp and their outfits they would still be human. Woody and he would still be together. 

Woody would not be happy about it though. Buzz can picture the way he’d fold in on himself, forced to admit defeat. No, Woody would spend the rest of his days trying to get the lamp back. It didn’t matter what Buzz said. 

So he lets Woody drive around, no doubt tiring himself out. 

It’s about an hour and a half of Woody driving around before they pull up to a large building. It looks like a warehouse, and Buzz can see a car parked in the abandoned lot. Upon closer inspection, it’s the same color and type of car the figures who stole the backpack earlier were driving. 

“It might not be their car, Woody.” Buzz states, but it falls on deaf ears. Woody is already sizing up the building, looking for the best possible way to get in.

He motions for Buzz to take one side of the building, and he’ll take the other side. 

Buzz sighs, and follows his instruction. 

It wouldn’t be the first time Woody’s come up with an impulsive plan on the spot. Woody is always rigid and determined in his efforts. Buzz is confident he’d still be looking for the backpack until he was an old man if he needed to. 

He bites his lip in shame for wanting the backpack to disappear so that they have no choice other than to remain human. It’s not fair to Woody for things to work out that way. It wasn’t fair for Buzz to wish both of them human in the first place. It was selfish on his part. He can only hope that Woody won’t want to turn back. Unlikely, but still. 

Buzz is distracted while he’s scouting the building. He’s normally more alert and prepared. Years of Star command instinct making him ready for anything, but he’s not paying much attention to things now. Which is why he doesn’t notice there’s another person behind him until Buzz feels cold metal digging into his back. 

He freezes on instinct, careful not to make any sudden movements. 

There’s a person behind him, pressing a hard, heavy object against his back. It must be a weapon, Buzz thinks. 

The voice speaks then, in a higher-pitched voice than he was expecting. As if the attacker was nervous. 

“Turn around!” The voice demands. 

Buzz does, slowly. 

He meets the eyes of a young man and frowns immediately. It’s hard to see him clearly in the darkness of the warehouse, but Buzz can tell its a boy, a teenage boy. He looks to be around the same age as Andy when he left for college. 

He’s holding the weapon nervously in his hand, and Buzz gets a better look at it. It’s a gun. The silver metal gleaming dangerously in his hand. 

A chill makes its way down Buzz’s spine. He’s a human now. Getting shot with that from this distance...Buzz is suddenly very aware of the possibilities that could follow. Buzz tries not to move his head much as he scans his surroundings. The way the boy is holding the gun nervously is very dangerous, he could fire it by mistake. 

Buzz sees another figure in the distance move closer, just enough so Buzz can see him. Another boy, this one’s got the backpack in his hand! If Buzz could just get the backpack...he could make a quick escape after that. Or he could just wish for something if he got to the lamp in time. 

Buzz tenses ever so slightly. He’ll have to be quick and careful. If that bullet hits him, it could be bad, really bad. 

The second boy frowns at him as if noticing his intentions. The other one grips the gun more firmly, pointing it at Buzz’s chest now, hands shaking as he holds it. 

“Don’t Move!” He demands again. There’s an undeniable sound of fear in his voice. 

Buzz grits his teeth. He can do this.

Buzz moves. He hears the gun go off, and quickly launches himself to the side in the darkness. Full-on panic flares through him. Did the bullet hit him?! The adrenaline could numb the pain to the point where he wouldn’t have even felt it if it hit him, so Buzz isn’t sure. 

Buzz is about to make a frantic run for the backpack and then get the hell out before he’s blinded by the bright lights on the ceiling turning on, fully illuminating their surroundings. 

A good few feet from him are the two boys, one gripping the backpack and the other holding the gun tightly in his hands. Then Buzz turns to the other side of the room, where he sees Woody, who looks more furious than Buzz has ever seen him. It’s then Buzz realizes that the boys weren’t the ones who fired the gun. 

It was Woody. Woody’s gripping a gun in his hand, and it’s pointed up at the ceiling, meaning he must have shot upwards as to not hit anyone. Buzz can’t believe Woody’s gun actually works. He’s always had one in his holster when they were toys, but for some reason, Buzz never considered Woody’s pistol would be working, he always thought of it as well, a toy. 

When Buzz turns to look at the boys, they look downright terrified. That’s when Buzz realizes that everything about Woody screams a figure of authority. Woody, noticing this, uses it to his advantage.

He walks into the room with a determined look towards the boys, frown on his face. 

“What do you two think you’re doing.” Woody demands, in a harsh authoritative voice. 

The boys startle and scramble for a response. 

“We’re so sorry officer! It was an accident!” 

Officer? Buzz frowns. 

He glances up at Woody. It’s obvious the way he’s holding the gun and himself that he’s some sort of police authority. A sheriff indeed. 

Woody gives them the most frightening look he can muster as he moves closer to them. He reaches down quick as lightning to rip the weapon from their hand. 

“You’re lucky no damage came to my partner or you two would be in real trouble.” Woody says, looking over to Buzz. 

The boys nod quickly, eyes wide with shock and surprise. 

“Now listen here. If I ever, and I mean EVER see or hear about the two of you doing anything like this again, I’ll throw you in a jail cell for the rest of your lives. Got it?!” Woody yells fiercely. 

The two boys nod as if their lives depend on it, and Woody reaches down to rip the backpack away from one. 

“Come on Buzz!” Woody says, and Buzz needs no further prompting. He gets up quickly and practically sprints after Woody to get out of the building. 

When Buzz exits the building he’s surprised to feel a harsh stinging punch hit his shoulder. He reaches up to grip his arm and stares at Woody with a shocked expression. 

“What did you do that for?” Buzz demands. 

“What on earth were you thinking Buzz?!” 

“They had a gun! They could have...You could have!” Woody starts ranting, reaching up to run his hands through his hair, hat falling to the ground. 

Buzz reaches down to pick it up, a tiny smile curving onto his face. Woody was worried about him. 

“Relax Woody, it was fine.” Buzz comments, handing his hat back. 

Woody glanced at him in a way that implied it was most certainly not fine, but he rolls his eyes and takes the hat, motioning for Buzz to follow him back to the car.

They drive for an hour before Woody starts to nod off at the wheel, eyes getting heavy. Buzz sees the sign for the hotel just as Woody does, and though it’s obvious Woody wants to keep driving he relents and pulls over to the side of the road. 

After the somewhat complicated process of checking in with the person at the front desk, Buzz and Woody make their way upstairs into a small room. 

It isn’t until Buzz lays down on one of the beds and lets out a sigh when Woody speaks. 

“What if it wasn’t fine Buzz.”

Buzz frowns. He knows full well what Woody’s talking about. What could have happened if he had gotten shot.

“Well, it didn’t happen Woody. I’m fine.” Buzz reassures. 

Woody shakes his head. “You’re fine now, but what if I hadn’t gotten there? What if you got shot Buzz? What if you couldn’t be fixed?” 

Buzz’s silence is enough of an answer. 

Woody starts pacing in the tiny room. 

“This is exactly what I was afraid of Buzz! We don’t belong here! This wouldn’t have happened if we were toys!” Woody states angrily. 

Buzz sits up, anger fueling him right back because how can Woody be so blind? 

“What are you talking about Woody?! Do you think that being toys made us invulnerable to danger? We were almost blown up by Sid’s rocket Woody! You were almost sold to Tokyo! Lotso almost incinerated all of us in a fire!” 

Buzz feels guilty for yelling, but he knows Woody is using the dangers of the human world as some kind of justification for being toys. There will always be danger though, whether they face it as humans or toys. 

Woody sighs, sitting down on the other bed hanging his head in his hands. 

Buzz lets him cool off for a minute before he speaks. 

“Thanks for saving me Woody. You always come through.” 

Woody meets his eyes and laughs softly. 

“So do you Buzz.” 

They sit there in silence quietly before Woody speaks again. 

“You know I might be in Tokyo now if it weren’t for you Buzz.” 

Buzz pauses, he remembers that. How years ago Al stole Woody from Andy’s house. How he wanted to sell him to a museum in Tokyo along with Jessie and Bullseye. He hates to imagine it. Woody stuck behind a glass panel in a museum. Just another novelty to be looked at. As if he didn’t have a life, or friends to get back to. No, that sort of thing doesn’t matter when you’re a toy. Humans don’t care about that. 

Woody continues talking. “You knew Andy needed me.” Woody says. 

Buzz shakes his head. “That wasn’t why I went after you Woody.” 

Woody turns to him, eyebrows arched up in confusion. 

“I didn’t do it for Andy,” Buzz says. 

Woody frowns, staring at the ground like he hadn’t expected that answer. 

Buzz doesn’t say anything else, because he doesn’t know what else he can say. 

That was the truth. Even though Buzz did love Andy, that wasn’t the reason he went after Woody to save him. Buzz had a different reason entirely. 

At the time it seemed hazier. Clouded by the realization that he was just a toy, and toys weren’t supposed to have feelings like that. He had them anyway of course. He never had any desire to act on them though. What would be the point? As toys there could be no future for them. Buzz knew nothing about romance anyway. 

He was always content with what they had. He and Woody were best friends. They were a team, a dynamic duo. They saved each other more times than Buzz can count. 

He realizes then why he went into the antique store and wished so desperately on that lamp. He doesn’t want to be without Woody. He doesn’t want to have to go back to Bonnie and pretend to be happy, to be surrounded by other toys. He doesn’t want a kid at all anymore. 

He wants Woody, Buzz thinks as he starts to feel his eyes close.


	6. Chapter 6

Woody wishes he could say he knew where to go from here. 

It should come to him easily. He should know what he’s supposed to do. Woody always knows. For some reason though, when he looks over at Buzz sleeping in the bed next to him, it’s not so easy. 

Woody’s been twisting and turning the truth in his mind. Trying not to see it for what it is but to no avail. The truth is Buzz likes being human. 

More than likes...he loves it, Woody realizes. 

Granted it shouldn’t have been that hard for him to figure it out. Buzz did wish for them to be human after all. 

But Woody was thinking that was just a quick reflex. A simple, spontaneous solution for the biggest issue at the moment.

Which for Buzz...was Woody leaving. 

Woody didn’t want to be selfish. He wanted anything but that. That’s why he wants to get back to the carnival. He wants to meet up with Bo Peep and start the next part of his journey. The part without a kid. 

So why? Why does Woody feel this looming sense of dread that threatens to suffocate him when he looks over at Buzz? 

There’s more than one reason. 

For one he’s at a loss for what to do. Woody knows Buzz doesn’t want to be a toy again, he’s done everything but scream it out loud at this point. 

Being a human isn’t without danger though, Woody thinks. 

Tonight they had faced danger in a whole new light. 

He can almost hear Buzz’s voice asking him what was different about tonight?

Woody shakes his head and presses his hand to his temple. Buzz was right. They had been in more dangerous situations before. 

Woody couldn’t forget them if he tried.

He thought this whole thing would work itself out smoothly. He and Buzz would make it to the RV in no time. Buzz would wish them back human and everything would be fixed! Bonnie would be happy. His friends would be happy. He would be happy. 

Would Buzz? 

A nauseating feeling sweeps over him. 

He lays down against the sheets and presses his head down into the pillow.

He glances over at Buzz’s form in the night. 

Buzz is breathing steadily. Chest rising and falling in the night. The covers are half on him and half off. He must have gotten hot and shoved them off. 

Woody studies his face. He looks different as a person. Of course Woody didn’t expect him to look the same as he had as a toy. If Buzz had those blond curls as a toy, Woody is sure he’d look ridiculous. 

But they suit him in a way. Making his face look softer, more...human. Not the bulky form he had as a toy. 

It’s funny how Woody can picture the two of them in his mind. 

There’s Toy Buzz who Woody can see pointing his laser at things, flying through the air, telling everyone about his lessons at Star Command. Toy Buzz is firm and sure of himself. Always willing to help those in need, always by Woody’s side, ready to march right into whatever adventure is waiting for them. 

And then there’s human Buzz. It’s still Buzz. He still acts similarly. He still has Woody’s back through thick and thin. He’s still ready for adventure, ready for danger. 

But he’s not Buzz Lightyear anymore. He doesn’t mention Star Command as much. He doesn’t swivel his laser around or extend his wings. He can’t do either of those now, but Woody doesn’t think he’d want to even if he could. 

Buzz is becoming more human by the second, and that’s what has Woody so on edge. 

He can’t stand to lose Buzz. He can’t watch Buzz disappear completely, blinded by the reality of being human. How long would it be before Buzz didn’t want to keep his spaceman outfit? How long before he doesn’t mention Star Command? How long before he forgets their friends?

Woody’s mind is jumping to different conclusions left and right now, paranoid thoughts bouncing around his head. 

For the first time in a long time, he’s lost. 

When Woody wakes from the night of broken sleep he got, he finds Buzz awake in his bed. 

Buzz is sitting up with his eyes focused on the TV, flipping through the screens. 

“Oh hey, you’re awake.” Buzz comments. 

Woody nods and looks at the TV. Buzz appears to be watching some documentary about the moon landings. 

Woody rubs his eyes tiredly and glances at the clock next to his bed. It’s already morning, and that means they should head out soon. 

They’ve only got another few hours before they make it to Bonnie’s RV where all their friends are waiting. 

Jessie told him they’d be there until tomorrow morning, so Woody knows they’ll have time as long as they get moving. 

When Woody mentions this to Buzz, he’s surprised to see Buzz dressed and ready to go. 

Woody frowns slightly. He thought for sure Buzz would be dragging this out, but Buzz looks ready to go. Maybe he changed his mind? 

“You were ready surprisingly quickly.” Woody remarks, making sure to grab the backpack before they leave. 

Buzz nods. 

“Yeah well. The sooner we get to the RV the better. I’ve got to talk to the toys.” 

Woody frowns and Buzz realizes his mistake. 

He called them toys. Their friends. The living breathing companions Woody’s known for most of his life. 

“Woody that’s not what I meant.” Buzz states regret clear on his face. 

Woody swallows the lump in his throat, feeling like sandpaper against him. 

It’s not like Buzz said anything that wasn’t true. They were toys. It just...didn't seem right to say it. 

“We should go.” Woody says and Buzz nods, following him out to the car. 

Woody drives because he needs some kind of distraction from his thoughts right now. Not that it does him much good. He’s usually thinking a million miles a minute anyway, and the situation they are currently in isn’t doing him any favors. 

Buzz is in the passenger’s seat tapping his hands against the armrest. A human gesture. Woody’s never seen him do it before, so why now? Is it something he learned from watching other people? Woody doesn’t know. He doesn’t know why he’s so fixated on it either. On the shocking reality that Buzz, his Buzz, is already more human than toy. 

Woody keeps driving. They’ve got less than an hour left now until they make it to the RV, and Woody pulls the car over to a rest stop. Partly because they need gas, and partly because he and Buzz have to satiate the constant hunger that appears every few hours as a human. That’s one thing Woody certainly wouldn’t miss, although it is nice to try all the different foods he watched Andy eat through the years. 

Experiencing it himself was something different entirely.

Woody holds back a laugh watching Buzz try different donuts, resulting in powdered sugar all over his face. 

He and Buzz take their time. They get different sodas and foods they’ve always wanted to try. It’s nice, and Woody tries not to think about the fact that this is the last time. 

He doesn’t know why he doesn’t want to get up and head back to the car. His feet feel like lead, but in the end, he forces himself to get up, because that’s what he was supposed to do. Woody always did what he was supposed to do. 

Buzz takes the wheel this time, leaving Woody to his thoughts. It won’t be long now. Woody should be looking forward to it, so why isn’t he? 

Every mile they drive has Woody delving deeper into the intricate workings of his mind at the moment. Everything is a jumbled mess inside his brain. 

The plan is to reunite with their friends. Then for Buzz to wish them back to humans. Then the third...well that wish would be to send Woody back to the carnival. Back to Bo.   
Oh God. Bo Peep!

During this whole spontaneous journey, Woody’s embarrassed to say he hasn’t given her much thought at all. She must still be at the carnival, but Woody feels guilty for just leaving with no explanation. She must be worried about him. 

Woody uses that to solidify his resolve. He can do this. He and Buzz are toys. They know what to do. Buzz knows what to do. Kids take priority, no matter the circumstance. Woody’s mind flashes back two years ago when Andy left for college. He remembers Andy holding both of them in his hands. Woody in one, Buzz in the other, dangling over the box meant for college. 

Woody was...happy when Andy wanted to bring him. It was a great honor for a toy. Even if Andy hadn’t played with them in years...even if the rest of his friends wouldn’t go...Woody would have been happy, right? 

Woody squeezes his hands nervously. There were so many things he never gave a second thought to because they were toys. What they wanted was not always what happened. That was the way things worked as toys. They were meant to be played with, meant to be owned, they weren’t meant to make their own decisions. 

So when Buzz wished for them to be human, how did he do it so easily? How could he leave Bonnie? 

Woody would ask him, but he isn’t sure he wants to. He’s sure Buzz won’t react well, and now that they’re so close to the RV, Woody doesn’t want to bring up anything like that, for fear of it getting in the way of their plans. 

Woody sees the beginning of an RV park in the distance, meaning Bonnie and their friends had to be there. It was still light out, but Woody’s hoping Bonnie and her parents went off to get lunch or go sightseeing. It would be much more difficult to get to the RV with him and Buzz looking like grown men. 

There’s no way they’d be able to get into the RV, and Woody doesn’t want to accidentally frighten Bonnie. 

He instructs Buzz to park a good distance from the RV’s. 

Woody exits the vehicle, backpack in hand. Buzz follows behind him. 

The check if the coast is clear, looking past the rows of RV’s in the park, before spotting Hamm posted lookout on the top of the RV, for them most likely. If Hamm was on the lookout out in the open, that meant Bonnie and her family were out. Good.

Woody and Buzz make it to the RV swiftly, the distance seeming meager compared to how long it would have taken if they were toys. Gah! He shouldn’t be thinking about it. The more he keeps comparing it in his mind, weighing the pros and cons against each other will make it all the more difficult when they have to be toys again. 

“What took you guys so long?” Hamm asks jokingly. 

Woody shakes his head. He’s kidding, of course, trying to lighten the tension of this being a problem they’ve never had to deal with. Buzz thankfully, has an answer readily prepared. 

“Oh you know, enjoying the sights.” 

He grins at Woody. Their day at the beach has remained a secret, along with the stealing of the backpack. That’s for them to remember. 

Their other friends, hearing the commotion come outside. Confirming Woody’s belief Bonnie and her parents are out for the time being. 

Jessie smiles when she sees them. 

“Woody! Buzz! You made it!” 

Buzz smiles, while Woody has a puzzled frown. 

“Of course we made it, why wouldn’t we have?” 

His friends all share a look with each other. There is something unspoken in their eyes, and Jessie rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. 

“Well...with the two of you being human and all...we just thought…” 

“That you weren’t coming back.” Mr. Potato head interrupts.

Not coming back? Why wouldn’t they come back?

“Why wouldn’t we have come back?” Woody asks. 

Rex fidgets nervously where he stands, while Slink just gives Woody a small smile. 

“Woody...you guys are human now. There’s no reason for you to come here.” 

Woody falters, heart sinking in his chest. These are his friends, how could he not come back? How could he stay human, after everything they’d been through? 

“So...why did you guys think we came back?” Woody asks his friends. 

“To say goodbye,” Buzz whispers from beside him. 

Woody freezes. He turns to Buzz, an understanding look appearing on his face. Woody whips around, all of his friends share a similar look. Like they’ve resigned themselves to the fact that this is it. This is goodbye.

“B-but how can you guys say that?! After everything we’ve been through? That we’ll just pick up and leave because were humans now? We’re friends!” Woody sputters.

How could they think that of them? That suddenly because whatever magical force in the lamp had presented them with human life they would just leave? Leave everything?

“You left us,” Buzz whispers, and it’s so soft that Woody barely hears it. 

He pauses, turning to look at his friend. Buzz is staring at him, eyes still holding the same defiant look Buzz Lightyear wears. Only this is not Buzz Lightyear. This is human Buzz, who’s face looking shockingly sad, who’s blond curls fall in front of his face. Who’s clothes make him look smaller than ever without the bulky spacesuit to make him appear sturdier. 

Woody frowns. 

“What are you talking about?” He asks. 

Their friends shift behind them, uneasy looks appearing on their faces. 

Buzz frowns, face becoming harder. 

“You left us, Woody! You decided to stay behind at the carnival!” Buzz says, voice getting louder. 

“You know why I did that!” Woody counters. Of course, Buzz knew why. He knew Woody wanted to help other toys find new homes. It was only right. 

“No, I actually don’t. That’s the thing, Woody. I don’t get it. Why do you need to go back?”

Woody blinks, Buzz’s eyes trapping him with their gaze, looking for an answer. 

“Y...You know why.” Woody says back. 

“I don’t know!” Buzz yells, mouth twisting into a frown. It makes Woody wince. Seeing Buzz angry is awful, and now as a human, his face is so much more expressive. There is a blatant, anger towards him clearly written there.   
Woody fights fire with fire. 

“I don’t understand you Buzz! You never used to be this way! Buzz Lightyear is brave! Selfless! He cares about other people, our friends!” 

“I CARE!” Buzz shouts, making Woody blink in confusion. Buzz hardly ever races his voice. 

Then Woody watches in complete shock, as Buzz does something completely unexpected. He rips the lamp from the backpack, gold glistening in the light. 

“I WISH” Buzz shouts, voice louder than Woody’s ever heard it. 

“THAT EVERY TOY OUT THERE THAT WANTS A KID WILL FIND ONE.” 

The lamp gleams in the light, it shakes once, and Woody can feel the powerful aura emitting from it, spreading throughout the globe. His friends stare at the lamp in shock, carefully remaining quiet. 

Woody stares at Buzz in disbelief. 

“It’s over now Woody. You don’t have any obligation to go back to the carnival. You could be free, we could be free.” Buzz says. 

“What about Bonnie?” Woody whispers. Even if all the toys who wanted kids will get them, what about Bonnie? She would surely notice Buzz was missing. 

“What about her?!” Buzz says, voice harsh. 

The toys gasp behind them. 

“She’s our kid Buzz.” Woody whispers. 

Buzz rakes his hands through his hair. 

“I never asked for her! Why do I have to belong to her?! Because Andy decided it?!” 

Woody stares at him, mouth open in shock. Their friends nervously look between the two of them. 

“She’s a kid Buzz! She’s only five!” Woody yells back. 

“She’s old enough to throw you into the closet isn’t she though!” Buzz yells at him. 

Woody’s eyes widen. Woody always though Buzz felt sorry for him. Sorry for the poor cowboy who Andy played with the most to be cast aside. He never would have guessed though, the Buzz would be angry at Bonnie on his behalf. 

Woody’s eyes move to the ground. He never wanted things to be this complicated. He never wanted to be separated from his friends. 

“I wish...I wish we were still with Andy…” Woody mumbles. 

He doesn’t expect what’s coming next. 

“Open your eyes, Woody! You don’t want to see what’s right in front of you! Andy did love us! He did care about us! But as soon as he got older he tossed us into that toy chest. How is that any better than the closet Woody?!” 

Woody falters, finally seeming to realize the reality of their situation. The reality of their lives. He’s crying Buzz realizes, when he sees the tears forming in Woody’s brown eyes. 

“Woody…” he begins. 

“Don’t. Just...don't” Woody whispers. 

He leaves, disappearing into the distance while Buzz just watches in disbelief. The toys whisper behind him in low voices. 

Buzz looks off into the direction where Woody left. 

What has he done?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, this will be the final chapter of Wishful Thinking. Thank you all for your support and comments. Initially, I wanted this fic to be longer, but I feel as though the final chapter wraps everything up nicely without dragging it out. Enjoy!

Buzz isn’t stupid. He’s impulsive, adventurous, sometimes perhaps a little naive about things, but never stupid. 

So why then, as he stares at Woody’s retreating figure does he feel like the biggest idiot imaginable. 

He thought Woody would be happy with this. Isn’t that what he’s been worrying about? All the other toys in the world? Woody wanted to help them find their kids, but with this wish, he shouldn’t feel any obligation to do anything else...so why...why isn’t he happy? 

Andy, Buzz realizes.

Woody's entire life, entire being had only been to please Andy. He lived his entire life catering to the whims of Andy. It had always been about Andy, and now...maybe Woody felt like he needed to honor Andy in some way. 

Maybe that’s why he felt such a need to help the other toys. He needs something now. A new purpose to focus on instead of living for himself. 

“Buzz?” A voice calls from below him. 

He looks down to see Jessie’s small figure approaching him from behind. It occurs to him how truly tiny she is next to them. Buzz has always known how small they were of course, but this further illuminates just how big their limitations are as toys.

Buzz takes a seat on the grass beside her, holding his head between his hands. 

“I just don’t get it, Jessie. I don’t understand.” He echoes sadly. Jessie had always been someone he could talk to when he was at a loss for what to do. 

Jessie sighs. 

“It’s not always easy to understand Woody, but this time I think I get it.” 

Buzz’s eyes widen, and he looks over to her for an explanation. 

“Woody’s spent his entire life living for others Buzz. First, it was Andy, then Bonnie, then us, and then it was supposed to be other toys in the world.” 

“I know that!” Buzz responds. Of course he knows that. It’d be impossible not to notice that Woody puts everyone before himself. 

Jessie shakes her head. 

“Woody’s not like you Buzz. He’s not a toy that believed he was free and human the moment he arrived in Andy’s bedroom. Don’t you get it? Don’t you get why he’s acting this way? Why he’s so insistent on trying to go back to being a toy?” 

Buzz stares at her dumbfounded. 

“He’s afraid Buzz.” 

Buzz’s mouth opens wide. “Afraid of what?!” He demands because it’s hard to imagine Woody being scared of something. Especially after everything they’ve seen. 

“Afraid of you.” 

Buzz’s heart seizes in his chest. 

“Sorry, that came out wrong. He’s not afraid of you specifically, Buzz. He’s afraid of being human. It’s easier as toys to push down our feelings. We don’t feel the same things as humans, we don’t act the same way. It’s easier to brush things under the rug and forget about them.” 

“I don’t follow. Why is something being brushed under the rug?” 

Jessie pinches the bridge of her nose. 

“Woody loves you, you know.” 

Buzz’s eyes widen to the size of alien saucers. 

“No...he loves...Bo peep! He says, heart-thumping in his chest. He denies it quickly, much too quickly, because he knows Woody. He knows that Woody loves him, but not the way Buzz loves Woody. Buzz is his partner, his best friend, not...something more than that. 

“He doesn’t…not the way I do…” Buzz whispers. 

Jessie shakes her head. “He doesn’t know how to handle it. Doesn’t what to do because he’s still living in the past Buzz. He’s still waiting for Andy to come back again and turn the two of you into a crime-fighting duo. He’s so set in his ways that he’s scared of the unknown. That’s why he’s pushing you away.” 

Buzz falters. 

Part of him knew that. Knew that Woody was stuck living in the past. They all knew that with how often he mentioned Andy, how often he talked about their adventures, about the journey they shared. 

Buzz never minded it either. He liked to remember the past. He wants to remember the past. He wants to keep Andy and all the toys he’s met throughout the years close to his heart, to not forget them. 

At the same time though he wants more. He wants a world beyond the life he knows. He wants to stay human, he needs to stay human. A crystallizing thought forms in his head and Buzz knows what he needs to do, no matter how hard it will be. 

His heart feels heavy in his chest, but this is what he has to do. It’s the only way they can both be happy, even though Buzz feels himself dreading it. 

He says goodbye to each of his friends, saving Jessie for last. 

It hurts, even though Buzz knows he wants more than this life, it hurts to leave them behind. It makes him think of Woody, of how he left them behind. 

Woody. 

Buzz can’t imagine how hard it will be to finally part with Woody for good, but he’s out of chances. He’s out of alternate plans. 

Woody is too set in his ways to change, so with a heavy heart Buzz leaves. 

The weight of the lamp in his pocket feels more like a burden than a fairytale. 

______________________________________

Woody kicks at the pebbles in front of him in frustration. Red hot anger bubbles through him. How could Buzz be so selfish? 

It’s not Bonnie’s fault she has other toys to play with! So what if Woody has to sit in the closet! Buzz shouldn’t hold that against her! 

Woody takes his hat off his head and twists it anxiously in his hands. He doesn’t know what to do now, but he needs help. He needs someone to talk to, and just like that he realizes who can help him. He gets back into the car they rented and drives. 

At that moment Woody forgets about things like the speed limit and police cars. He just drives, letting his speed go well over the acceptable limit. 

He makes it back to the carnival in a reasonable time. The glowing lights in the distance are his indication of what to look for. He spots Bo Peep at the bottom of the tent, keeping herself carefully hidden until she spots him.

“Woody?” She asks in disbelief, somehow recognizing him with ease. Her eyes hold a curious warmth in them, but not disbelief or shock, like he expected to see. 

Woody nods. 

She smiles at him.

“Tell me.” She says, and Woody does. 

He tells her everything. He tells her about Buzz’s wish, their adventure, his decisions, he tells her everything that’s happened. 

She listens intently the whole time, and it’s only when he’s finished does she start speaking. 

“That sounds like Buzz.” She remarks, a fond smile on her face. 

“Bo!” Woody chides. 

“Sorry, it just seems like something he would do.” 

She laughs then, a lighthearted warm sound fluttering from her lips. 

“So what are you waiting for Woody?” 

Woody raises his eyebrow. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Well...you said yourself Buzz used his second wish for all the toys who wanted kids to find them. So why are you here?” 

Woody frowns at her. “What do you mean?! I can’t just leave you alone again! Plus there must be more toys out there that need help! What if a toy gets stuck in the antique shop again or what if a kid loses one or what if…” 

“...Woody” 

Woody stops. He turns to look at her. 

“It’s okay. You can be free now. You don’t have to stay here.” 

Another person telling him to be free. Why? Why again? 

“But! I have to stay! I can’t just do nothing! I have to help the toys...help the kids!”

He’s fumbling through excuses again, but why? Why does he feel such a need to justify this? Why won’t his mind stop thinking?

Bo shakes her head. “No...but there is someone you do need to help. It’s time you finally started living for you, Woody.”

Woody shakes his head. 

“I don’t...I can’t…” 

“You can. It’s time.” 

Woody rakes his hands through his hair as Bo starts to walk away. 

“Wait! Bo! Don’t go!” 

He watches her fade away into the distance. Another toy gone. Another friend leaving him again. 

Woody feels the tears pooling in his eyes as he wipes blindly at them. It hurts. Losing another friend. Losing someone else in his life again. He stumbles on the slick grass, blurrily wiping his eyes as he walks.

Until he smacks right into something...or rather...someone. 

Woody falls, landing on the ground with a harsh thud. 

“Woah, man! I’m sorry about that! Are you alright?” 

He considers snapping at whoever says this to him but changes his mind quickly when he hears the genuine apology in the stranger’s voice. 

A hand extends to him, and Woody accepts it as the stranger pulls him off the ground. 

That voice. 

He knows that voice. 

Woody blinks the water away from his eyes as he stares at the figure in complete disbelief. 

It can’t be. 

But it is. 

There, standing in front of him...is Andy. 

He looks the same as when he left, and it occurs to Woody he must be in his second year of college now. 

“Sorry about bumping into you like that…” Andy says, and Woody opens his mouth. He wills something to come, anything. He just stands there though, with his mouth open in surprise. 

“Woah! Your outfit! It looks just like a toy I had when I was younger!” 

That finally prompts Woody to regain control of his body. 

“I-it does?!” 

Andy nods. 

“I had a toy cowboy, his name was Woody! He looked exactly like you! Same vest and boots and everything.” 

“Oh,” Woody remarks, wishing his brain could say something that sounded more intelligent. 

“I had a lot of toys. I had Woody the longest, but I had a Buzz Lightyear too. Oh and a T-Rex, I had potato heads too, they were fun. There was a cowgirl named Jessie! Oh and slink! Then there’s Bullseye, Hamm, I can’t forget the army men either.”

A wave of nostalgia hits him like a punch to the gut. It feels surreal seeing Andy. Seeing him here of all places...all grown up. 

“Do you...miss them?” Woody asks, unable to fight the question he’s been wondering for years. 

He always considered talking to Andy. Always wanted to break the rules just to hear what Andy would say if he knew all along his toys were real, the bond they shared, it was real. 

Andy pauses. A sad smile makes its way onto his face. 

“Of course I do, but it was time for me to move on. It was time to let go, for me and my toys, it was time. I hope...I hope that they’re happy though.” 

“Anyway, I gotta run. It was nice meeting you though!” 

And with that Andy is gone. Disappearing as if he was never there at all. 

Woody feels his heart ache in his chest. It grounds him to humanity. Beating every few seconds to remind him that this is real. That he is real. 

Feelings rush over him in every sense of the words. He lets them come to the surface. Every emotion he’s brushed down throughout his life, every thought that he’s hidden away comes to the surface. 

Andy’s moved on. It’s time he finally does the same. It’s time to let go. So Woody does. He relinquishes his grasp on the past, holding the memories dear to his heart.

He knows what to do now. Knows it’s finally time to act on the feelings he’s hidden down for too long. It’s time for Woody, for the first time in his life to be selfish. He has to find Buzz! Has to tell him what he’s felt all this time. 

“Looks like you’ve finally figured it out.” Woody heard from behind him. 

He whips around to see an old woman, kind eyes staring at him fondly. This is Buzz’s witch he realizes, the woman at the antique store who gave him the lamp. The one who started all this. 

“I...I have to get to Buzz! I have to tell him!” Woody exclaims. 

“Better hurry if I were you. He’s about to make his final wish.” 

Woody frowns. A final wish? But Buzz doesn’t have a reason to wish for anything else...unless…. 

The realization hits him swiftly. He knows exactly what Buzz will wish for because that’s what he thinks will make Woody happy. 

“I need to get to him! Fast!” 

The woman cackles.

“I thought that’d be the case. Better buckle up cowboy. It’s gonna be one hell of a ride.” 

__________________________________

Buzz stands at the edge of the shore. He’s up higher from the beach, perched along top a small cliff over the water. It took him a few hours to walk to such a serene spot, but he decided to do it anyway. 

Part of him decided to walk such a distance to prolong his final wish, but he realizes now that he can’t prolong this. 

His last wish will be his final gift to Woody. 

He’ll give Woody what he’s wanted from the moment they turned human. His last wish will be for Woody to be a toy. 

This time Buzz won’t follow. He considers it of course. Considers any possibility where he won’t have to leave Woody. But once he thinks it’s through, Buzz knows he won’t be able to do it. He can’t go back to being a toy. He can’t watch Woody and Bo Peep together at the carnival. He can’t go back to being helpless again, to watching his friends get torn away, to not have the ability to do things any normal human could do effortlessly.

No. He’ll stay this way. It won’t be what he wants. It won’t be he and Woody on an adventure anymore. It will only be Buzz, existing through the rest of his life as a human until his time is finished.

He feels the first tear fall from his face. 

This isn’t what he wanted.

But he will do it. For Woody. 

The cold metal of the lamp radiates against his hand, becoming warm steadily underneath his fingertips. 

He pauses knowing the permanence of his actions and his fingers touch the gold lamp. He can’t hesitate, he can’t force Woody to stay human with him. 

His hand moves in slow motion across the Lamp. 

“I wish…” he begins.

And then he hears it. 

“BUZZ!” 

His name echoes around them like a dream. Something that’s too good to be true. As Buzz looks for the source, he finds it coming from…above him?! 

Buzz has just enough reflex to move away from the cliff's edge as Woody comes crashing down from the sky of all places, with some sort of weird glowing circle fading from the sky as he lands. 

Woody stands up quickly and rushes over to him. 

“Woody?! What are you doing here?” 

“Buzz! I need you to listen to me!” 

Woody reaches out to grasp his hand, Buzz feels the warmth of it against him parallel to the cold lamp. 

“I was wrong! It was wrong of me to want you to stay with Bonnie. It was wrong of me to get angry with you over being human. Hell, it was wrong of me to leave you all at the carnival. I was too scared of the future. Too worried about how things would be different. I was so worried about losing you to the human world that I would have done anything to prevent it. But I was wrong Buzz. I realize now that I don’t want to lose us. This...what we have. I don’t want to lose being human.” 

Buzz stares at him. Body tense and eyes eagerly hopeful to believe this. All too soon Buzz shakes his head. 

“I don’t want you to make any more selfless decisions Woody. I don’t want you to stay this way just because you want to make me happy. I don’t want…” 

“Buzz! I wish you would kiss me, you idiot.” 

The lamp gleams softly. A golden glow illuminating from it. 

Buzz feels himself moving then, lips touching Woody’s even though he doesn’t recall leaning forward. A warm feeling spreads through his chest as Woody‘s hands rest against his face. 

They break apart after a minute, Buzz staring at him in surprise. 

“Woody...you wasted the last wish.” He says in awe. 

“No, I didn’t. That was the best wish I ever made.” Woody whispers. 

“Ready for the next adventure partner?” Woody asks, giving Buzz a bright smile as he laces their hands together.

Buzz squeezes back just as hard. Feeling the warmth of Woody’s hand against his own. They’re in this thing together. 

“To infinity.” Buzz whispers

“And Beyond.”


End file.
